Chittagong Vikings 194 for 2 (Reece 80*, Mehidy 2-18) beat Rajshahi Kings 149 for 9 (Patel 62, Raza 4-16) by 45 runs
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Chittagong Vikings' 45-run win over Rajshahi Kings added some sheen to their BPL campaign, but it still didn't take them out from bottom place. They finished the 2017 season last, with losers Rajshahi finishing one spot ahead of them at sixth.
Chittagong's unlikely batting hero was Luis Reece who struck a quick-fire unbeaten 80; Luke Ronchi and Sikandar Raza also made contributions with forties of their own to help Chittagong to 194 for 2 in 20 overs.
In Rajshahi's depressing outing with the ball, only Mehidy Hasan Miraz stood out with his 2 for 18 from four overs. Mustafizur Rahman and Mohammad Sami gave away 90 runs in their combined eight overs.
Samit Patel's 26-ball 62 gave Rajshahi some early push but he fell in the 10th over to dash their hopes. Raza starred with the ball, taking his maiden four-wicket haul in T20s and finishing with his best figures in the format.
Ronchi's last fling
Ronchi capped off his fine BPL season with another brisk start. This time he struck three sixes and four boundaries in his 30-ball 42. The first of those sixes was a lucky break as Rony Talukdar dropped the catch; Ronchi then hammered Sami and Qazi Onik for one six each over extra cover and long-on.
Reece fleeces Rajshahi
Having made only 61 runs in the previous seven innings, it was surprising to see Reece open with Ronchi. But he did a fine job, hammering four fours and three sixes in his 56-ball knock. It took him a while to get going, as he got his first six in the 12th over, lofting Mehidy over long-off. He struck Mustafizur and Sami for straight sixes in the slog overs. He added 86 runs for the unbroken third-wicket stand with Raza. The Zimbabwean himself struck three sixes and as many fours in his unbeaten 20-ball 42.
Patel retaliates
Patel was another under-performing cricketer this season, having made just 38 runs in the five previous innings. Sent to bat at No. 3 after Rony Talukdar fell in the third over, he slammed Taskin Ahmed over square-leg for his first six. In the sixth over, he smashed four boundaries in a row against Rayad Emrit, who conceded 17 in the over.
Then he hit Tanbir Hayder for two sixes in the eighth over before doing the same to Al-Amin in the following over. But Patel fell in the 10th over, brilliantly caught-behind by Irfan Sukkur off Reece. He had struck six fours and five sixes in his 26-ball whirlwind knock.
Raza strangles with spin
In the 13th over, Raza skidded one through to Mushfiqur Rahim, which he inside-edged on to his stumps. Next ball, he trapped Usama Mir leg-before before James Franklin managed to keep out the hat-trick ball with an inside edge. Franklin struck two sixes before falling for 17 in the 16th over. Raza collected another two scalps - Sami and Zakir Hasan - in the 18th over to finish with four wickets, his highest tally in any T20 match.
